Each of use have experienced many things. We have heard things, smelled things and even tasted and seen uncountable things. But the focus today is to relate to a Biblical directive from a Bible hero, King David. In Psalm 34, David calls out to readers to join in to the experience, but do we fully grasp it. Let’s read it and experience it.

A psalm of David, regarding the time he pretended to be insane in front of Abimelech, who sent him away.
 
¹ I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will constantly speak his praises.
² I will boast only in the Lord;
let all who are helpless take heart.
³ Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;
let us exalt his name together.
 
⁴ I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
He freed me from all my fears.
⁵ Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
⁶ In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
he saved me from all my troubles.
⁷ For the angel of the Lord is a guard;
he surrounds and defends all who fear him.
 
⁸ Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
⁹ Fear the Lord, you his godly people,
for those who fear him will have all they need.
¹⁰ Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry,
but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.
 
¹¹ Come, my children, and listen to me,
and I will teach you to fear the Lord.
¹² Does anyone want to live a life
that is long and prosperous?
¹³ Then keep your tongue from speaking evil
and your lips from telling lies!
¹⁴ Turn away from evil and do good.
Search for peace, and work to maintain it.
 
¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right;
his ears are open to their cries for help.
¹⁶ But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil;
he will erase their memory from the earth.
¹⁷ The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
He rescues them from all their troubles.
¹⁸ The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
 
¹⁹ The righteous person faces many troubles,
but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.
²⁰ For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous;
not one of them is broken!
 
²¹ Calamity will surely destroy the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
²² But the Lord will redeem those who serve him.
No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

Psalm 34 is an acrostic poem; in this case, each line of verse begins with a different Hebrew letter, arranged in alphabetical order. The primary purpose of the psalm is to teach moral lessons about God. Its theme highlights God’s constant care for His people. In verse 8, the psalm’s author, David, invites readers to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” What does it mean to taste and see that the Lord is good?

To taste involves testing or sampling; to see involves understanding or perceiving. The phrase taste and see, then, means “try and experience.” David urges God’s people to discover the goodness of the Lord by personal trial and experience it for themselves. He doesn’t want readers to merely take his word for it that the Lord is good; he wants them actively to experience and know for themselves the fact that God is good.

Humans associate taste with pleasure and satisfaction. Bible commentator Matthew Henry elaborates on this idea: “Let God’s goodness be rolled under the tongue as a sweet morsel.” When David says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good,” he is calling us to figuratively take a bite—to try for ourselves by our own experience—and find out exactly how satisfyingly good God is. The apostle Peter applies the same language in 1 Peter 2:3 when he says, “You have tasted that the Lord is good.”

Tasting must happen before seeing; that is, our spiritual experiences bring us to spiritual enlightenment and understanding. David desires others to “taste and see.” He wants them to experience what he has experienced so that they can know what he has come to know, the soul-sustaining goodness of the Lord.

Psalm 34 goes on to outline examples of God’s incredible goodness to those who take refuge in Him: He takes care of their every need (verses 8–10); He provides for them with a good, long life (verses 11–15); He is with them through troubles and saves them from their enemies (verses 17–22). Those who taste and see that the Lord is good will know His provision.

Believers in Jesus experience tastes of God’s goodness and grace when we observe the beauty of His creation or recognize His blessings of provision, protection, and care. We taste and see His goodness when we contemplate His holiness and infinite righteousness. We delight in His goodness when we appreciate the cost of Christ’s sacrifice for our salvation.

To taste and see that the Lord is good, we must trust God and seek Him as our sole source of protection and provision. The only way to genuinely taste and see that the Lord is good is to put the matter to the test, to try and experience His goodness for yourself.